Revchem Composites Fast Lap Qualifying Results:

1. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            165.116 mph
2. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   158.559 mph
3. Dustin Echols                   U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             158.254 mph
4. J. Michael Kelly                 U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       156.728 mph
5. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Miss Apollo Mechanical                                   155.043 mph
6. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee                                        152.846 mph

Qualifying Recap:

For the final race of the 2024 season and the coveted APBA Gold Cup, the H1 Unlimited racers have made their way to Southern California and the Mercurys Coffee Co presents the APBA Gold Cup at San Diego Bayfair.

On Friday morning, the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes got their first laps on the Mission Bay water and the current National High Points leader, Andrew Tate in the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate showed the force that Miss Madison Racing rolled into town with as they posted the fastest lap of testing at 158.755 mph.

As the hydroplanes prepared to compete for the Revchem Fastest Lap award across two qualifying sessions, the U-91 was clearly positioned as the boat to beat capturing three of the first four $2500 checks presented by Revchem this season. The first round of qualifying proved challenging for the U-1 Miss Beacon Electric of J. Michael Kelly, the U-27 Miss Apollo Mechanical of Dave Villwock and the U-40 Flav-R-PAC of Dustin Echols as all experienced issues either with inspection or mechanical and had times not recorded. All were able to complete their runs during the second session and record times to qualify for the Mercurys Coffee Co APBA Gold Cup event.

But to no surprise in the pit area, the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate of Andrew Tate posted an average speed of 165.116 mph in their qualifying laps in the first round. Per Gold Cup rules, the average of the two fastest laps determines the overall average speed of qualifying. And throughout the second round, no other boats were able to come close and Tate secured yet another Revchem Fastest Lap award to kickoff what he hopes to be a celebratory weekend of capturing a National High Points Championship and the APBA Gold Cup.

The H1 Unlimited hydroplanes will take to the water Saturday for four heat races. Fans can tune in on the H1 Unlimited YouTube channel for live coverage.

Driver Quotes:

Andrew Tate, driver, U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate, Miss Madison Racing

What does it mean to get another Revchem Fastest Lap award and how is your focus this weekend as you chase the National High Points Championship?

“Our boat has been running good all season long and maybe somebody down the line is sandbagging a little bit and not showing all their cards just yet, I don’t know. It’s a long weekend and we’ve been running really hard into this head wind, but the boat feels really good. And of course we would love the chance to nail down the National High Points Championship before the final heat so we can focus on the Gold Cup, but this is just the start of a long weekend of boat racing ahead. You have to be ready for everything, but that’s our goal. In a perfect world, we would love to do that, but anything can happen out here in the salt water. But we’re proud to claim another Revchem Fastest Lap award and want to thank them for all they’ve done to support our series this season. There are a lot of fast boats here and a lot of competition on the water that’ and I’m looking forward to it.”